Download Free Tom Standage The Victorian Internet Pdf
For centuries people communicated across distances only as quickly as the fastest ship or horse could travel. Generations of innovators tried and failed to develop speedier messaging devices. But in the mid-1800s, a few extraordinary pioneers at last succeeded. Their invention-the electric telegraph-shrank the world more quickly than ever before.A colorful tale of For centuries people communicated across distances only as quickly as the fastest ship or horse could travel. Generations of innovators tried and failed to develop speedier messaging devices. But in the mid-1800s, a few extraordinary pioneers at last succeeded.
Their invention-the electric telegraph-shrank the world more quickly than ever before.A colorful tale of scientific discovery and technological cunning, The Victorian Internet tells the story of the telegraph's creation and remarkable impact, and of the visionaries, oddballs, and eccentrics who pioneered it. By 1865 telegraph cables spanned continents and oceans, revolutionizing the ways countries dealt with one another. The telegraph gave rise to creative business practices and new forms of crime. Romances blossomed over the wires. Secret codes were devised by some users, and cracked by others.
The benefits of the network were relentlessly hyped by its advocates and dismissed by its skeptics. And attitudes toward everything from news gathering to war had to be completely rethought.The telegraph unleashed the greatest revolution in communications since the development of the printing press. Its saga offers many parallels to that of the Internet in our own time-and is a fascinating episode in the history of technology. Steam-powered e-love affairs! Hapless Scottish fisherman trying to serve gutta perch telegraph wire tubs for supper! Telegraph operators flooding the wires of the noobs just like kids flood chat rooms!
Download Free Tom Standage The Victorian Internet Pdf Free
Plus lots of little-known facts. I had no idea the first telegraphs were optical, or how hard it really was to put a line across oceans, or that codes were illegal. This book was funny and enlightening and just about the best thing you could read if you're a steampunk fan looking for some actual Steam-powered e-love affairs!
Hapless Scottish fisherman trying to serve gutta perch telegraph wire tubs for supper! Telegraph operators flooding the wires of the noobs just like kids flood chat rooms! Plus lots of little-known facts. I had no idea the first telegraphs were optical, or how hard it really was to put a line across oceans, or that codes were illegal. This book was funny and enlightening and just about the best thing you could read if you're a steampunk fan looking for some actual history.It's also a good read for anyone who thinks much about how the world's all changed because of the internet. I can't think of another book that so well displays the actual moment when the whole world connected. The author makes a clear contrast between the pre-telegraph world and the newly connected one, making an argument that the generation of the Millenials should be counted back to 1854.
After reading a number of the reviews I am prone to think that a number of people missed the larger point. For all of the hyping of the internet in the mid to late 90's, it wasn't as drastic a change to everyday lives as was the electric telegraph. Where it took weeks to months for a message to cross oceans or continents before the telegraph, it took minutes after.
The phone and internet just changed the amount that could be communicated. The telegraph truly interconnected the world and laid the After reading a number of the reviews I am prone to think that a number of people missed the larger point. For all of the hyping of the internet in the mid to late 90's, it wasn't as drastic a change to everyday lives as was the electric telegraph. Where it took weeks to months for a message to cross oceans or continents before the telegraph, it took minutes after. The phone and internet just changed the amount that could be communicated.
The telegraph truly interconnected the world and laid the groundwork for the phone network and internet later.Also to try to compare the telegraph operators to your standard internet user is unfair. The more proper analogy would be to the web designer/software programmer.
It was a more technical job than the GUI interface of our browsers of today which make it so easy for your basic user of the internet.I agree that it is mostly an overview that doesn't go greatly in-depth, but it does hit pretty much all the points. To say that it doesn't go very far into the Chappe's telegraph towers is also unfair; the book does go into it and discusses how it sped up communications, and then it does go into the disadvantages as well (doesn't work at night, doesn't work in fog or heavy rain, and seen by whoever has a line of sight view (so not very private)). I just finished this wonderful little volume which chronicles the rise and fall of 'The Victorian Intenet,' the telegraph.
Like many others, I knew about Samuel Morse and the Morse Code, of the laying of the Atlantic cable and how the telegraph laid the groundwork for modern communications unlike anything else in history.But what I didn't know is how very much alike it was to our Internet. They had 'chat rooms' of sorts, they had their hackers and identity theives. Standage also tells a few I just finished this wonderful little volume which chronicles the rise and fall of 'The Victorian Intenet,' the telegraph. Like many others, I knew about Samuel Morse and the Morse Code, of the laying of the Atlantic cable and how the telegraph laid the groundwork for modern communications unlike anything else in history.But what I didn't know is how very much alike it was to our Internet. They had 'chat rooms' of sorts, they had their hackers and identity theives. Standage also tells a few fascinating stories of how some people found love on the wires. One story stands out about a young army telegrapher in remote New Mexico who married his fiance at the fort, while the minister and the bride's father were 650 miles away in San Diego.
He tells of how bored telegraph operators played chess, exchanged jokes and recipes, and got to know people outside their hometown that without the device would not have been possible.The telegraph had much more of an impact on that generation than most other technologies have on this one. Before Morse and the other pioneers of telegraphy, news was limited to an area that might be no more than a few days ride away. News of foreign wars, trade regulations, and even news from the far corners of our far flung republic could be weeks old by the time it reached decision makers. One wonders if the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812 would have been fought, as a peace treaty was signed weeks before this famous battle was waged.Between 1844, when Morse sent his famous phrase over the wires, to Alexander Bell's utterances on his new telephone, the world changed drastically because of the twin catalysts of telegraphy and the railroad. Messages could now be sent from London, and it would reach it's destination in Bombay four minutes later. A New York merchant could receive an order to export flour to London, and in turn issue orders to his warehouse in San Francisco to send it eastward to help fulfill the order.
During the American Civil War, President Lincoln knew the events unfolding in far away battles almost as soon as they occurred- something that had never happened in previous conflicts. And just like we had a dot com boom, where the opportunities were online, so they had a telegraph boom, where a man could make something of himself in this new fangled world.I have read widely in history, and every once in a while a book crosses my path which excites my intellect. This book entertains, informs, and demonstrates once again that indeed 'there is nothing new under the sun.' It just is updated. Standage provides curious and accurate parallels between the rise of the internet, and the rise of the telegraph, the former of which can definitely trace its ancestry directly to the latter. Though given how quickly it proliferated and increased in capability and complexity, and given that instant communication had never been developed in the history of humanity, the telegraph appears to be a far more impressive in its era than the internet was to a world already widely accustomed to Standage provides curious and accurate parallels between the rise of the internet, and the rise of the telegraph, the former of which can definitely trace its ancestry directly to the latter. Though given how quickly it proliferated and increased in capability and complexity, and given that instant communication had never been developed in the history of humanity, the telegraph appears to be a far more impressive in its era than the internet was to a world already widely accustomed to electricity, radio, telephones, television, and for that matter, computers.People were optimistic “ The laying of the telegraph cable is regarded.as the greatest event in the present century; the whole earth will be belted with electric current, palpitating with human thoughts and emotions.
It shows that nothing is impossible to man” Some even believed this would include world peace. Standage notes the irony that the same things were said about the internet.Standage writes about the history of the technology itself, from mechanical telegraphs with giant arms, to the eventual obsolescence of the electric telegraph through the rise of the telephone, though I was most fascinated in this book with the cultures that developed around it. While the technology impacted the whole world, the people most involved were the actual operators who during quiet hours would begin messaging each other. “ Stories, jokes, and local gossip circulated over the wires.just as if the participants were sitting together at a club. In some cases the tales passing over the wires would find their way into the local newspaper.
Most did not because.they were far too smutty or anatomically explicit.”A telegraph session is described that was joined by thirty three different offices in which everyone could send a message to anyone else at the same time, yet “ after passing various resolutions, the employees adjourned the meeting in great harmony and kindly feeling after about an hour” I have no idea how they kept it organized. There are still chat rooms that are pure chaos.There were many women telegraph operators as well as men and the most curious incidents described were those of operators that met through telegraph messages and fell in love. “ Minnie Swan Mitchell, a young operator in the 1880s, recalled that 'many a telegraph romance begun over the wire culminated in marriage”Nonetheless I think there were some missed opportunities. There were more parallels with the internet which I think could've been explored. The International Telegraphic Union is barely mentioned though it was literally the equivalent to ICANN. The ITU was stationed in Geneva, whereas ICANN is headquartered in Los Angeles as if to demonstrate the shift across the Atlantic in both geopolitics and the center of technological innovation.
Instead of a domain name, the ITU assigned every station a code.Experiments in the transmission of images are also omitted. From the pantelegraph, to the telantograph, to the telectograph, to the telestereograph, it’s a fascinating story and completely ignored here.There was also somehow a chapter on information overload focusing on business transactions of all things without even mentioning the famous passage from Walden on the rise of irrelevant information in the news due to the telegraph.It's light and curious reading. You can finish it in a few days and gain a new perspective on one of history's most important technologies.
I'm not the type of person that is drawn to treatises on machines, but when I came across this book, my curiosity won out and I was shocked to find I couldn't put it down. Rather than focusing on the mechanics of the telegraph too strongly, Tom Standage instead focuses on the people that created the telegraph and its effects on society. For instance, he notes that prior to the telegraph, news took 10 weeks to get from Britain to certain outposts in India, but once the telegraph was installed I'm not the type of person that is drawn to treatises on machines, but when I came across this book, my curiosity won out and I was shocked to find I couldn't put it down. Rather than focusing on the mechanics of the telegraph too strongly, Tom Standage instead focuses on the people that created the telegraph and its effects on society. For instance, he notes that prior to the telegraph, news took 10 weeks to get from Britain to certain outposts in India, but once the telegraph was installed there, it took just 4 minutes! Merchants were also affected because deals with suppliers across the states in the U.S.
Used to involve weeks of letters and negotiations back and forth. However, with the telegraph, negotiations could be done in one day causing everything to speed up and, Standage argues, resulting in the more fast paced business that we are so familiar with today. Standage also points out that operators of the telegraph could communicate much like in internet chat rooms today, so the internet today, while an advance, was not the huge life shattering change that the telegraph was.From describing the various scientists and laymen responsible for the telegraph, including the original optical telegraph used in France before electricity was harnessed for it, Standage traces the gradual evolution of the telegraph which then finally led into the telephone that destroyed the telegraph business. Though it may sound naive to some, I had no idea that they actually laid out over 2000 miles of telegraph cable at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean (some 2 miles deep) in order to connect Europe to Newfoundland and Newfoundland then to the U.S. I didn't know such things could be done - especially in the 1860's! Tom Standage writes a riveting account of a forgotten time and the legacy of the telegraph which can still be in seen in the internet and phones today.
Another shallow, quick, interesting read. I enjoyed this light history of the telegraph, and there certainly were interesting parallels with the Internet. However, there also seemed to be several gaps in the narrative.For the most part, I liked how Standage simplified his description of the development and evolution of telegraphy. The early pre-electric history and problem-solving stories were particularly interesting. But with all the detail put into explaining some solutions, it was Another shallow, quick, interesting read. I enjoyed this light history of the telegraph, and there certainly were interesting parallels with the Internet.
However, there also seemed to be several gaps in the narrative.For the most part, I liked how Standage simplified his description of the development and evolution of telegraphy. The early pre-electric history and problem-solving stories were particularly interesting. But with all the detail put into explaining some solutions, it was frustrating when he didn't do the same with others.
For example, there were only a couple of sentences briefly mentioning how the problem of sending over great distances was resolved.Overall, I'd still recommend it for anyone interested in communication in this time period. Like the other Standage book I've read, it is a great starting place likely to whet your appetite for a more in-depth book. I needed a 'non-fiction book about technology' for my Book Riot Read Harder Challenge and was hard pressed to find something modern I cared to learn about in this dumpster fire we call 2017, so I instead turned to the Victorians and the advent of the telegraph.Super illuminating and refreshing to see that new technology causes greatness and horribleness no matter the era. I was not aware the first telegraphs were visual, using long arms to gesture codes atop large hills (creepy) nor realized how I needed a 'non-fiction book about technology' for my Book Riot Read Harder Challenge and was hard pressed to find something modern I cared to learn about in this dumpster fire we call 2017, so I instead turned to the Victorians and the advent of the telegraph.Super illuminating and refreshing to see that new technology causes greatness and horribleness no matter the era. I was not aware the first telegraphs were visual, using long arms to gesture codes atop large hills (creepy) nor realized how horrid it must have been to try and lay cable across the Atlantic. Yikes.A highly readable micro-history!
Fascinating journey through the second half of the 1800s with the invention of the telegraph. As we went from messaging taking 10 days (at the fastest) to get across the Atlantic to, in 1866 with the transatlantic submarine cable, minutes.Of course, at the time, as we did with the Internet in the 90s, this amount of global connectivity would surely bring world peace with it! It'd wash out the cultural differences in no time! People found love over the wire and it's described as a true hey-day Fascinating journey through the second half of the 1800s with the invention of the telegraph. As we went from messaging taking 10 days (at the fastest) to get across the Atlantic to, in 1866 with the transatlantic submarine cable, minutes.Of course, at the time, as we did with the Internet in the 90s, this amount of global connectivity would surely bring world peace with it!
It'd wash out the cultural differences in no time! People found love over the wire and it's described as a true hey-day for telegraph operators as they traveled around the world, operating telegraphs (the telegraphic nomad). It completely changed the news media, instead of accounts being delayed by months and weeks, they could now be relayed in real time. Something the news saw as a wonderful new opportunity to appeal to people's emotion and give them dramatic stories in real-time.Such a humbling account of something that took place 150 years ago, but seems so oddly familiar today. The leap from the telegraph (and later, telephone/teleprinter) to the Internet isn't as far as the leap from mail horse wagons to telegrams.Comes highly recommended as a Christmas read.
I loved this book! I highly, highly recommend it. The Victorian Internet is an excellent history of the telegraph. But it is not simply a fact-and-name filled book of inventions and advances. It's a social history - focusing on the social impact and societal change that the telegraph brought to the world. And, cleverly he compares the changes the telegraph brought to the Victorian world (especially in England) to changes the Internet has brought about today.
This makes a study of the history of I loved this book! I highly, highly recommend it. The Victorian Internet is an excellent history of the telegraph. But it is not simply a fact-and-name filled book of inventions and advances.
It's a social history - focusing on the social impact and societal change that the telegraph brought to the world. And, cleverly he compares the changes the telegraph brought to the Victorian world (especially in England) to changes the Internet has brought about today. This makes a study of the history of science seem so much more relevant. It's also a quick and fun read.The telegraph gave rise to creative business practices and new forms of crime.
Romances blossomed over the wires. Secret codes were devised by some users, and cracked by others. The benefits of the network were relentlessly hyped by its advocates and dismissed by the skeptics. (Flyleaf description)People chatted, dated, and fell in love 'on-line', but through the telegraph. Police work was changed by the telegraph.
In major cities such as London, there were even problems with overloads of traffic and delays (a problem solved with pneumatic tubes being used to deliver telegraph messages to 'the last mile'). It's a fascinating history, and again, a quick and breezy read too.I did read this book a few years ago, so I don't remember every detail.
But I do, still, remember some of the major points of the book. And I highly recommend it. You know you want to read all about how the telegraph ushered in the information age, 'wired love' and all! It's fun to follow the trail of inventive genius and the resulting cultural shockwaves. The things humans can do!
Loved that every time I had difficulty picturing the mechanisms of one contraption or another, I turned the page only to find a helpful historical diagram!The comparisons with our modern internet are still apt 10 years on. Maybe more so, from our vantage point of web 2.0 or You know you want to read all about how the telegraph ushered in the information age, 'wired love' and all! It's fun to follow the trail of inventive genius and the resulting cultural shockwaves.
The things humans can do! Loved that every time I had difficulty picturing the mechanisms of one contraption or another, I turned the page only to find a helpful historical diagram!The comparisons with our modern internet are still apt 10 years on. Maybe more so, from our vantage point of web 2.0 or whatever they're calling it these days. (Though, for my money? The best legacy of the golden age of the telegraph might just be the pile of.)Once you've read this I recommend checking out this for a critique and more cool thoughts about elitism, the transformative power of technology, and narratives of progress.
This is a story of the telegraph well told. Standage takes the reader on a tour of the history of the telegraph. Technical details are kept sufficient to tell the story and are easy to understand for the general reader. Despite the title, Standage reserves his comparisons to the Internet (this book was published in 1998) to the final chapter, which I very much appreciated.While the Internet is hailed as a revolutionary communication achievement, Standage makes a good point that it was the This is a story of the telegraph well told. Standage takes the reader on a tour of the history of the telegraph. Technical details are kept sufficient to tell the story and are easy to understand for the general reader. Despite the title, Standage reserves his comparisons to the Internet (this book was published in 1998) to the final chapter, which I very much appreciated.While the Internet is hailed as a revolutionary communication achievement, Standage makes a good point that it was the telegraph that was the true revolution.
The ITU, which oversees Internet standards, was founded in 1865 to oversee telegraphy standards. Over twenty years later, the conclusions of this book still ring true today. Jeremy's been pressing me to read this book for years, and I'm glad I finally did.
It's an entertaining look at the history of the telegraph and its impact on society, which has surprising parallels to the internet. The book was written in 1998, so it didn't have much to go on in speculating how the web might change society. But the same techno-utopianism that accompanied the birth of the web ('There won't be any more hatred! There won't be any more nationalism!' - AHAHAHAHAA) accompanied the Jeremy's been pressing me to read this book for years, and I'm glad I finally did.
It's an entertaining look at the history of the telegraph and its impact on society, which has surprising parallels to the internet. The book was written in 1998, so it didn't have much to go on in speculating how the web might change society.
But the same techno-utopianism that accompanied the birth of the web ('There won't be any more hatred! There won't be any more nationalism!' - AHAHAHAHAA) accompanied the dawn of the telegraphic age. Cph exam quick reference review pdf software free. These technologies do bring unimagined benefits to society, but in the end, people are still people, and people still hate.That glum realization aside, this is actually a fun and lively account. I especially loved the passages on laying the first transatlantic cables, and I'm definitely going to check out for more insight into that incredible feat. While the term ‘Victorian Internet’ conjures up visions of a steampunk alternate history, the invention and spread of the telegraph system in the 19th century had much the same effect on society then as the internet has had in our own time. It turned a world where messages took weeks to cross the Atlantic to one where it took mere minutes.
It changed the speed of business and of war. New forms of crime sprang up to take advantage of the new technology and encryption was developed to deal with While the term ‘Victorian Internet’ conjures up visions of a steampunk alternate history, the invention and spread of the telegraph system in the 19th century had much the same effect on society then as the internet has had in our own time. It turned a world where messages took weeks to cross the Atlantic to one where it took mere minutes.
It changed the speed of business and of war. New forms of crime sprang up to take advantage of the new technology and encryption was developed to deal with this. A new class of people sprang up- the telegraph operators, the only people who knew the knack of sending and receiving messages. They could go anywhere and be assured of a job. Suddenly, anyone who could afford the price of the telegram could talk to people across the globe. The telegraph system was hyped by some as the technology that would bring world peace- after all, if you could talk to someone instantly, you wouldn’t want to make war on them, would you?Sadly, that last wasn’t true.
And the telegraph operators soon found their economic boom over and them selves obsolete as a new, voice over protocol was invented- the telephone. But the world was permanently changed by the technology that, for a lot of purposes, made distance immaterial.Standage tells us not just about the invention of the technology of the telegraph system, but about the personalities of the people who created it, and the consequences that it had in business, government, romance (yes, love did bloom across the wires) and newspapers. He gives a complete picture but keeps it light. And interesting read about a part of history that changed the world as much as the printing press did before it and the internet after it. A quick read for non-fiction. Tom Standage's The Victorian Internet, a historical survey of the telegraph from its origins in the optical telegraph of Revolutionary France to the beginning of its eclipse by the telephone in the 1880s, makes a superficially convincing argument that the telegraph fostered a tight-knit culture among mid-19th century telegraphists comparable to contemporary Internet culture.
Before the invention of the teleprinter, telegraph operators did constitute a highly-skilled class of information workers Tom Standage's The Victorian Internet, a historical survey of the telegraph from its origins in the optical telegraph of Revolutionary France to the beginning of its eclipse by the telephone in the 1880s, makes a superficially convincing argument that the telegraph fostered a tight-knit culture among mid-19th century telegraphists comparable to contemporary Internet culture. Before the invention of the teleprinter, telegraph operators did constitute a highly-skilled class of information workers with sufficient leisure time as workers to develop a geographically dispersed culture, online relationships resulting in everything from stock market fraud to marriages. Though Standage's analogy stumbles in that telegraph operators always formed a rather smaller minority of the general population than Internet users even in the late 1990s, used critically it does help the reader get a grasp on the way that instantaneous global communications transformed the 19th century world. It's always comforting, somehow, to find out that the new in fact has a tradition somewhere. One of these days I'll remember to pay attention to which edition of a book I'm listing. I read the later edition, which added some notes at the end philosophizing about the internet.
Over all the book was good- I could even recommend it for a kid to read. The history of the telegraph and reflections on the internet were the focus. The personalities were described without detailed analysis of their irrelevant sexual orientations.
It was just basic history. The social aspects of the rise of the One of these days I'll remember to pay attention to which edition of a book I'm listing. I read the later edition, which added some notes at the end philosophizing about the internet. Over all the book was good- I could even recommend it for a kid to read. The history of the telegraph and reflections on the internet were the focus. The personalities were described without detailed analysis of their irrelevant sexual orientations. It was just basic history.
The social aspects of the rise of the telegraph were interesting.I started reading this to appease my husband who seems under the impression that I am incapable of reading non fiction. I finished it because I enjoyed both the actual history and the author's perspective relating old and new technologies. That was probably my favorite part, all told. I like that history books have been throwing off their dry old attitudes. This was a very interesting history piece for anyone to read. The story of the rise and fall of the telegraph, and the communication revolution it spawned, is well-told, and foretold a lot about the social impact of the Internet.The telegraph had a significant impact on the life of Edison (who began his career as a telegraph messenger boy,) and the invention of the telephone.I believe this book is absolutely required reading for anyone interested in the Steampunk genre, because the truth is stranger than fiction.
The laying of the transatlantic cable The story of the rise and fall of the telegraph, and the communication revolution it spawned, is well-told, and foretold a lot about the social impact of the Internet.The telegraph had a significant impact on the life of Edison (who began his career as a telegraph messenger boy,) and the invention of the telephone.I believe this book is absolutely required reading for anyone interested in the Steampunk genre, because the truth is stranger than fiction. The laying of the transatlantic cable reads like a Jules Verne story.It loses a star because it didn't go far enough.
This could have been a longer and more satisfying book. The telegraph's importance during the American Civil war was only briefly touched. The telegram's cultural impact during the 20th Century was barely touched. I'd heard of this book for years, but hadn't picked it up till the publisher sent me a copy of the new paperback edition for review. It's a compelling, albeit light, read. The history of the telegraph provides much food for thought.
There will definitely be a time when today's technology seems as quaint as the telegraph does today. The book does a fabulous job of bringing the excitement of the time to live. It's hard to believe that people once gushed that the telegraph would bring about world I'd heard of this book for years, but hadn't picked it up till the publisher sent me a copy of the new paperback edition for review. It's a compelling, albeit light, read. The history of the telegraph provides much food for thought.
There will definitely be a time when today's technology seems as quaint as the telegraph does today. The book does a fabulous job of bringing the excitement of the time to live. It's hard to believe that people once gushed that the telegraph would bring about world peace. Reminds us of the overblown rhetoric of the internet today. Quick read from the master of lists, Tom Standage. Plenty of history from the world wide web (of wires) including anecdotes about online crime, banking and commerce, cryptography, message routing and online romance. The only thing lacking was spam - and man am I jealous about that.Author argues that the telegraph did more to shrink the world than the internet has, and I am inclined to agree.
That technology was developed to the point of being replaced by the telephone - will something similar Quick read from the master of lists, Tom Standage. Plenty of history from the world wide web (of wires) including anecdotes about online crime, banking and commerce, cryptography, message routing and online romance. The only thing lacking was spam - and man am I jealous about that.Author argues that the telegraph did more to shrink the world than the internet has, and I am inclined to agree.
That technology was developed to the point of being replaced by the telephone - will something similar happen to our beloved internet someday? A gripping story of invention and innovation in the 19th century. Two things particularly struck me: (a) that the initial experiments with the electric telegraph were much earlier than I had imagined and well before Faraday's theory of electricity explained what lay behind it all; (b) the long, 30 year, gestation then the incredible explosion of take up of the telegraph (650,000 miles of cable in just a few years) and the pace (within a decade) within which the key undersea cables were laid. A gripping story of invention and innovation in the 19th century.
Two things particularly struck me: (a) that the initial experiments with the electric telegraph were much earlier than I had imagined and well before Faraday's theory of electricity explained what lay behind it all; (b) the long, 30 year, gestation then the incredible explosion of take up of the telegraph (650,000 miles of cable in just a few years) and the pace (within a decade) within which the key undersea cables were laid. Breathless stuff. I read this years ago. The visual of two French brothers banging pots and pans to communicate at a distance comes to mind. I also remember mention of the first telegraph wedding, and the trouble that telegraph owners had with operators taking up the lines to play tele-chess. Oh, and all of the work that went into laying the Transatlantic cable, I remember reading about that and thinking: Wow, they did that back then?This is a great little history book, and I will definitely read it again some I read this years ago.
The visual of two French brothers banging pots and pans to communicate at a distance comes to mind. I also remember mention of the first telegraph wedding, and the trouble that telegraph owners had with operators taking up the lines to play tele-chess. Oh, and all of the work that went into laying the Transatlantic cable, I remember reading about that and thinking: Wow, they did that back then?This is a great little history book, and I will definitely read it again some day to keep its subject matter fresh in my memory. Tom Standage is a journalist and author from England.
A graduate of Oxford University, he has worked as a science and technology writer for The Guardian, as the business editor at The Economist, has been published in Wired, The New York Times, and The Daily Telegraph, and has published five books, including The Victorian Internet12. This book explores the historical development of the Tom Standage is a journalist and author from England. A graduate of Oxford University, he has worked as a science and technology writer for The Guardian, as the business editor at The Economist, has been published in Wired, The New York Times, and The Daily Telegraph, and has published five books, including The Victorian Internet12.
This book explores the historical development of the telegraph and the social ramifications associated with this development. Tom Standage also proposes that if Victorians from the 1800s were to be around today, they would be far from impressed with present Internet capabilities. This is because the development of the telegraph essentially mirrored the development of the Internet. Both technologies can be seen to have largely impacted the speed and transmission of information and both were widely criticised by some, due to their perceived negative consequences.Standage has taken part in various key media events. He recently participated in ictQATAR's 'Media Connected' forum for journalists in Qatar, where he discussed the concept of technology journalism around the world and how technology is expected to keep transforming the world of journalism in the Middle East and all around the world.-Wikipedia.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 214-217) and indexThe mother of all networks - Strange, fierce fire - Electric skeptics - The thrill electric - Wiring the world - Steam-powered messages - Codes, hackers, and cheats - Love over the wires - War and peace in the global village - Information overload - Decline and fall - The legacy of the telegraphFor thousands of years people had communicated across distances only as quickly as the fastest ship or horse could travel. Generations of innovators tried to develop speedier messaging devices.
Then, in the mid-1800s, a few extraordinary pioneers at last succeeded. Their invention-the telegraph-nullified distance and shrank the world quicker and further than ever before, or since. This book tells the story of the telegraph's creation and remarkable impact, and of the visionaries, oddballs, and eccentrics who pioneered it.
By 1865 telegraph cables spanned continents and oceans, revolutionizing the ways countries dealt with one another, giving rise to creative business practices and new forms of crime. Romances blossomed over the wires. The benefits of the network were hyped by advocates and dismissed by skeptics.
Tom Standage The Victorian Internet
Government regulators tried and failed to control the new medium. And attitudes toward everything from news gathering to war had to be completely rethought.-From publisher description. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2012-05-16 21:42:41 Boxid IA153923 Boxid2 CH129925 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City New York Containerid2 X0008 Donor Edition Berkley trade pbk.